Going cashless is the way forward but are we ready for a cashless society?

Going cashless is the way forward but are we ready for a cashless society?Bhimashankar Sanga

Going cashless is the way forward but are we ready for a cashless society?

Going cashless is the way forward but are we ready for a cashless society?

Rome was not built within a day. A cashless society won’t be realized overnight. It takes relentless, incremental and piecemeal progress to make that happen. India is getting to a tipping point where “cashless society” is no more considered to be a science fiction and is more of an inevitable means to thwart corruption , terrorism , money laundering, counterfeiting, tax evading, drug peddling, human trafficking, gambling etc. We need to consign cash to history, slowly and systematically.

Cash dominated economy mothers black economy. In the book “The Abolition of Cash”, author David Warwick animadverted that black market drains $660 billion from US economy, annually. According to a BBC Report, the global average growth of cash usage is 7% per year. This growth is alarming and poses bigger challenge to carry out cashless measures. Cash is still the king and is still superseding card transactions. In the same report, it is further mentioned that in 2012, there were 2.7 billion card payments, but an estimated 3.5 to four billion payments were made with cash.

The demise of cash is almost certain and the world is slowly moving in that direction. The UN has extended its wholehearted support to make cash society a reality. It further recommends nations to go cashless. The UN Capital Development Fund through its ‘Better Than Cash Alliance’ (BTCA) aims to segue into cashless mode universally as a part of financial inclusion by making use of mobile phones and cards. The BTCA is financially supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation(US$3,000,000), USAID (US$3,000,000), VISA (US$3,000,000), Ford Foundation (US$1,500,000), Citigroup(US$1,500,000), UK’s The Department for International Development (US$ 250,000) and Ebay'sOmidyar Network(US$1,500,000). The BTCA uses the technical expertise and suggestions from the leadership of the donor organizations in their programs to replace the use of cash with payment streams. The involvement of such entities might give rise to the suspicion of their vested interest in the outcome.

India has joined UN’s ‘Better Than Cash Alliance’ by announcing its flagship financial inclusion programme Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). So far 25.98 crore Jan Dhan Bank accounts have been opened as of 14.12.2016, out of which 23.22% are zero balance accounts. Out of 25 crore accounts, 15.75 crore bank accounts are purely from rural segment. The amount that has been deposited in these 25 crore accounts exceeds Rs. 74 lakh crores. More than 20 crore Rupay cards have been issued so far, which is a gigantic step taken by Government of India to bring rural people and poor under cashless ambit.

The whole world is enthusiastically embracing cashless economy. A whopping 417 billion cashless transactions were made in 2014. The next step for India would be to formally ban large cash transactions like France, Spain, Italy and other countries in northern Europe are already doing. Given the perilous state of stagnating European economy, most European countries are transitioning themselves to a cashless society. Spain has banned cash transactions of more than 2,500 euros and France and Italy have both banned all cash transactions of more than 1,000 euros.

In Sweden, thousands of ATMs are being removed permanently and most Banks of Sweden do not accept cash. (5% of the stores in Sweden have already gone cashless and a mere 2% of the Swedish economy is cash oriented. Govt. of Denmark intends to eradicate cash by 2030.

The Danish Chamber of Commerce is persuading Danish Govt. to let certain economic sectors the right to refuse cash.

According to Norway’s biggest bank DNB, 60% of Norwegian Cash flows out of Government’s jurisdiction. Therefore, DNB has publicly called for the complete elimination of all cash.

Half of all transactions are done electronically in Australia. According to Westpac Bank Research, Australia will be a fully cashless society by 2022

According to a CNBC report , 86% of Belgians have access to debit cards and 93% of all their transactions are cashless.

69% of French have access to debit cards and 92% of all their transactions are cashless.

88% of Canadians have access to debit cards and 90% of all their transactions are cashless.

88% of British have access to debit cards and 89% of all their transactions are cashless.

96% of Swedish have access to debit cards and 89% of all their transactions are cashless.

79% of Australians have access to debit cards and 86% of all their transactions are cashless.

98% of Dutch have access to debit cards and 85% of all their transactions are cashless.

This trend is the harbinger of the end of cash as we know it and many other countries will follow their suit.

The truth is also that the governments will want to discourage its citizens from using cash. With each passing day, the financials regulations will become more rigid, restrictions will become tighter, physical money will become more exiguous before cash is entirely obliterated.

The need for the government to push everyone to use digital payment is to make them dependent on the system, perpetually. It is also be a bamboozled move to bring back all the money into the banking system controlled by loansharking embezzlers. "Cashless Society" can also be a way of the government to gain full control of your finances.

Even in US, out of $US 1.4 trillion that is in circulation, each American has about $US 4,200 in cash mostly in hundred-dollar bills. Going cashless is a very bold move, but has a lot of risks. Government should address the risks, before going overboard over the ‘cashless’ agenda. Why should people keep cash in banks, when the interest rates go negative? Why should not they then hold on to their dear cash? In such cases, if money is not allowed to be kept, its pure robbery by banks.

Physical money can’t be hacked to nothing, infected by a virus, inflated by a mouse click etc. These things can happen with representative money. Government does not have a plan that addresses how folks on the periphery are supposed to live. How do you access your bank account, if you live under a bridge without power? .God forbid there's ever a power outage for any reason-all commerce would grind to a halt. This cashless drive can only be successful, as long as electricity and the internet hold up. Citizen’s obsequiousness towards government’s insidious initiatives can sometime backfire.

By bringing everyone onto digital economy, we are creating a monstrous system fife with more fraud and vulnerable to security breaches and disastrous glitches.

What is the guarantee that there won’t be any bank bail-ins? In Cyprus, troubled banks removed funds from anyone who carried accounts of over 100,000 euros.

In a developing country like ours, where uninterrupted power supply is a pipe dream, going cashless does not suit our conditions.

Government cannot comb through your every single transaction to validate and provide protection. Reconciliation system is also not well evolved to protect you from transactional errors. Unless and until, these things are addresses, going cashless will always be a dream.

Rome was not built within a day. A cashless society won’t be realized overnight. It takes relentless, incremental and piecemeal progress to make that happen. India is getting to a tipping point where “cashless society” is no more considered to be a science fiction and is more of an inevitable means to thwart corruption , terrorism , money laundering, counterfeiting, tax evading, drug peddling, human trafficking, gambling etc. We need to consign cash to history, slowly and systematically.

Cash dominated economy mothers black economy. In the book “The Abolition of Cash”, author David Warwick animadverted that black market drains $660 billion from US economy, annually. According to a BBC Report, the global average growth of cash usage is 7% per year. This growth is alarming and poses bigger challenge to carry out cashless measures. Cash is still the king and is still superseding card transactions. In the same report, it is further mentioned that in 2012, there were 2.7 billion card payments, but an estimated 3.5 to four billion payments were made with cash.

The demise of cash is almost certain and the world is slowly moving in that direction. The UN has extended its wholehearted support to make cash society a reality. It further recommends nations to go cashless. The UN Capital Development Fund through its ‘Better Than Cash Alliance’ (BTCA) aims to segue into cashless mode universally as a part of financial inclusion by making use of mobile phones and cards. The BTCA is financially supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation(US$3,000,000), USAID (US$3,000,000), VISA (US$3,000,000), Ford Foundation (US$1,500,000), Citigroup(US$1,500,000), UK’s The Department for International Development (US$ 250,000) and Ebay'sOmidyar Network(US$1,500,000). The BTCA uses the technical expertise and suggestions from the leadership of the donor organizations in their programs to replace the use of cash with payment streams. The involvement of such entities might give rise to the suspicion of their vested interest in the outcome.

India has joined UN’s ‘Better Than Cash Alliance’ by announcing its flagship financial inclusion programme Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). So far 25.98 crore Jan Dhan Bank accounts have been opened as of 14.12.2016, out of which 23.22% are zero balance accounts. Out of 25 crore accounts, 15.75 crore bank accounts are purely from rural segment. The amount that has been deposited in these 25 crore accounts exceeds Rs. 74 lakh crores. More than 20 crore Rupay cards have been issued so far, which is a gigantic step taken by Government of India to bring rural people and poor under cashless ambit.

The whole world is enthusiastically embracing cashless economy. A whopping 417 billion cashless transactions were made in 2014. The next step for India would be to formally ban large cash transactions like France, Spain, Italy and other countries in northern Europe are already doing. Given the perilous state of stagnating European economy, most European countries are transitioning themselves to a cashless society. Spain has banned cash transactions of more than 2,500 euros and France and Italy have both banned all cash transactions of more than 1,000 euros.

In Sweden, thousands of ATMs are being removed permanently and most Banks of Sweden do not accept cash. (5% of the stores in Sweden have already gone cashless and a mere 2% of the Swedish economy is cash oriented. Govt. of Denmark intends to eradicate cash by 2030.

The Danish Chamber of Commerce is persuading Danish Govt. to let certain economic sectors the right to refuse cash.

According to Norway’s biggest bank DNB, 60% of Norwegian Cash flows out of Government’s jurisdiction. Therefore, DNB has publicly called for the complete elimination of all cash.

Half of all transactions are done electronically in Australia. According to Westpac Bank Research, Australia will be a fully cashless society by 2022

According to a CNBC report , 86% of Belgians have access to debit cards and 93% of all their transactions are cashless.

69% of French have access to debit cards and 92% of all their transactions are cashless.

88% of Canadians have access to debit cards and 90% of all their transactions are cashless.

88% of British have access to debit cards and 89% of all their transactions are cashless.

96% of Swedish have access to debit cards and 89% of all their transactions are cashless.

79% of Australians have access to debit cards and 86% of all their transactions are cashless.

98% of Dutch have access to debit cards and 85% of all their transactions are cashless.

This trend is the harbinger of the end of cash as we know it and many other countries will follow their suit.

The truth is also that the governments will want to discourage its citizens from using cash. With each passing day, the financials regulations will become more rigid, restrictions will become tighter, physical money will become more exiguous before cash is entirely obliterated.

The need for the government to push everyone to use digital payment is to make them dependent on the system, perpetually. It is also be a bamboozled move to bring back all the money into the banking system controlled by loansharking embezzlers. "Cashless Society" can also be a way of the government to gain full control of your finances.

Even in US, out of $US 1.4 trillion that is in circulation, each American has about $US 4,200 in cash mostly in hundred-dollar bills. Going cashless is a very bold move, but has a lot of risks. Government should address the risks, before going overboard over the ‘cashless’ agenda. Why should people keep cash in banks, when the interest rates go negative? Why should not they then hold on to their dear cash? In such cases, if money is not allowed to be kept, its pure robbery by banks.

Physical money can’t be hacked to nothing, infected by a virus, inflated by a mouse click etc. These things can happen with representative money. Government does not have a plan that addresses how folks on the periphery are supposed to live. How do you access your bank account, if you live under a bridge without power? .God forbid there's ever a power outage for any reason-all commerce would grind to a halt. This cashless drive can only be successful, as long as electricity and the internet hold up. Citizen’s obsequiousness towards government’s insidious initiatives can sometime backfire.

By bringing everyone onto digital economy, we are creating a monstrous system fife with more fraud and vulnerable to security breaches and disastrous glitches.

What is the guarantee that there won’t be any bank bail-ins? In Cyprus, troubled banks removed funds from anyone who carried accounts of over 100,000 euros.

In a developing country like ours, where uninterrupted power supply is a pipe dream, going cashless does not suit our conditions.

Government cannot comb through your every single transaction to validate and provide protection. Reconciliation system is also not well evolved to protect you from transactional errors. Unless and until, these things are addresses, going cashless will always be a dream.

On Jan 9 2017, Pakistan launched its Submarine Launch Cruise Missile (SLCM) aptly named after their Islamic ideology Babur-3. However, experts are claiming that the footage which was released by Pakistan’s Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) to be computer generated. After Pakistan publicly declared the successful launch of this missile which can be a called a potent first strike capability because submarines are notoriously difficult to detect and they can fire nuclear tipped missile from international waters. Also, in such situation it is virtually impossible to sound alarm because the reaction time will be, if detected, just few minutes.

That is why when this Pakistan test fired a rocket launched from a submarine it made a lot of countries nervous particularly India since Pakistan officially called this achievement a second strike capability. Jan 9, 2017 morning brought not-so-good-piece-of-news for Indians which reads ‘Pakistan Successfully test fires Babur 3 with precision. The word that disturbs the most is Precision. Our Photoshop designers across the country became active and wanted to show their precision as well. They checked video seconds by seconds and got to know that the artists on the other side of the border lack dexterity, says Balaji Subramanian- geo-political blogger.

However, it seems now the whole operation was a charade and a public relation exercise to showcase power after the resent testing of Agni V missile by India. Also it could be possible China might have helped Pakistan since it their proxy to send a message to India but that is unlikely. However experts in imagery analysis think the whole test was a fraud.

Healthy foods so called are very often ignored by the modern generation and we at the end of the day end up eating junk food always. However, medical experts constantly keep on warning us that such food items are extremely harmful and can trigger hair loss. Eating healthy foods however, is not very tough as we can have it home made and can consider several items directly from nature. Doctors suggest that, one must have a rich protein based diet in order to have healthy hair growth. Protein intake can be taken from meat, fish and eggs but intake of protein exclusively will not help you much. One major reason of concern is that, your metabolism should be up to a standard level and catabolism (destructive metabolism) should never exceed anabolism (constructive metabolism), in the long run.

Taking oily and fatty food items are a strict no, as this can disturb your rate of metabolism to a large extent. Taking various junk foods frequently can lead to high cholesterol and constipation, which can lead to loss of hair as well. As per medical experts, it is extremely important that, you consider vitamins and minerals for your daily diet.

In order to keep your loss of hair in control, you should eat a regular diet which is rich in protein and minerals besides being a rich source of fiber as well. Here are some items which are considered to be helpful while trying to control persistent hair loss.

Foods to eat for a healthy hair

Yogurt

Yogurt should be included as a part of your daily diet, as it forms to be a rich source of calcium. Yogurt at the same time, maintains the health and strength of hair follicles till a large extent. Yogurt is also known to contribute extensively towards making your hair lustrous and silky. This can enhance your personality to a large extent.

Salmon

Omega 3 fatty acids are extremely important while considering hair growth. Therefore Salmon fish can be a rich source of omega 3 fatty acids and can contribute significantly to hair growth. In case you do not find salmon fish for consumption, you can take alternatives such as mackerel, anchovies etc.

Guava

Guavas are a rich source of Vitamin C as well as micro nutrients. These fruits are important because of their evergreen seeds and hardness. Vitamin C can aid in growth of hair and this fruit can be consumed even if you are a diabetic at the end of the day.

Spinach

Spinach is high in protein and vitamin A and C. Such nutrients can be used by the human body to produce oils in the scalp. Keeping your scalp moisturized can actually help in reducing hair fall, as has been suggested by medical experts.

Eggs

Eggs are rich in sulphur, and protein. These two are essential ingredients for growth of hair. Eggs can induce the production of keratin and collagen. Collagen and Keratin are essential elements that help in stimulating growth of healthy hair follicles.

Pumpkin seeds

Pumpkin seeds are a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, zinc, and vitamins A and K. These are all essential ingredients in promoting hair growth.

Conclusion:

Above, is all the list of food items which can be considered to promote hair growth. However, excessive loss of hair can give rise to baldness which remains to be a permanent issue with a majority of Indian population. Baldness can be treated with hair transplantation, which is one of the commonest methods of outcome based treatment. Hair transplantation in Pune, hair transplant in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad has become very common in the recent past.

Alopecia is commonly termed as baldness. It is the condition in which hair falls out and the hair follicle ceases to grow back hair. It is generally caused while a person faces an immunity system muddle where the body becomes confused and starts to attack own system. This disease is hereditary, so there are high chances of a person to get this disease if someone in their family has or had alopecia.

As discussed earlier, baldness is the major symptom of this disease. In certain cases, the baldness may come to a halt and hair reappears but in some other hair cease to, grows. The symptoms vary from person to person.

The best treatment for alopecia is hair transplantation. Hair transplant is now very common in the market. Several cities in India have the best centres that treat alopecia to provide the best results.

Generally, four distinct types of alopecia are common. They are as discussed below:

Androgenetic Alopecia

Androgenetic Alopecia is known as Hippocratic balding commonly. This baldness is caused due to hereditary baldness in one’s gene. This is also known as pattern baldness. Both the female and the men are affected by this baldness. Usually, in this type of baldness, the scalp hair starts falling and becomes transparent. However, this type of baldness does not lead to complete baldness but makes the scalp visible and hair fall is severe.

Ophiasis Alopecia Areata

Influenced by the Greek word for snake “ophis”, Ophiasis Alopecia Areata is named as the baldness apparently takes the pattern of snake-shaped hair loss. Usually, on the circumference of the head, this hair loss appears wave-shaped. It is typically very difficult to treat the temporal region of the scalp. It is a very long process to treat this kind of baldness as the process of repairing the hair follicle to promote hair growth is very slow.

Cicatricial-Scarring Alopecia

This is known as both scarring hair loss and cicatricial hair loss. In this type of balding scarring is a common phenomenon and hair shedding is very frequent. This is also characterized by bacterial infections, injury, burns, and scars in the affected areas. The hair fall occurs with itchiness, burning sensation, and severe pain. The affected areas have prominent signs of inflammation, redness, pigmentation, increased or decreased pigmentation. The main treatment of this baldness is to place the scarred tissues in the place of the destroyed follicles.

Alopecia Totalis

The complete hair loss from scalp and face is generally termed as alopecia totals. This baldness usually starts from ophiasis alopecia areata and leads to alopecia unversalis which is the permanent loss of body hair. The particular cause of this baldness is unknown. However, this particular baldness is not very common and only a few people are known to have it so far.

Depending upon the type one gets several treatment options. One cannot simply ask the local pharmaceutical shop for a medicine and pop it. This needs serious clinical treatment and expert’s advice. It has been noticed that people generally try out several ways to prevent the hair loss without diagnosing the basic problem. This leads to other serious issues and makes alopecia worst. So, it is better that one visits the doctor or a clinic first and then take any further steps.

There are several hair transplant clinics all over India. For best results, one can visit the clinics for hair transplant in Pune or hair transplant in Delhi. They provide the best hair treatment solutions and diagnose the problem of every patient and treat them accordingly.

So, if you are having any hair related issues do visit that a clinic as soon as possible. Before you start treating your hair fall on your own it is wise to know the particular reason why you are facing a hair fall. Hair is the most important asset that you have, so treat them wisely and with care.

To act without rapacity, to use knowledge with wisdom, to respect interdependence, to operate without hubris and greed are not simply moral imperatives. They are an accurate scientific description of the means of survival.

Barbara Ward, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth

The writing is on the wall for the Aam Aadmi Party because it not just lost the Delhi MCD election to the BJP, it lost overwhelmingly and instead of being humble and accepting the mandate of the people it is a being petulant. Over two years ago Arvind Kejriwal stunned everyone by winning sixty-seven seats out of seventy in the Delhi Assembly elections. This victory was unprecedented in the electoral history of India because the AAP was the recently formed political organization whose members came from different spectrums of our society and in just a short period managed to capture the hope and imagination of our country but something was afoul.

Crawl before you walk

When AAP decided to content the general elections in over four hundred seats in the 2014 general elections without any groundwork it sent out a negative signal and the name of this signal was “hubris”. For the BJP it was a long road to victory, after all, there was a time back in 1981 when it only had just two members in the Parliament. But it was hard work and calibrated political strategy that saw BJP emerge as not only the single largest party in 2017 but cross the magical figure of 272 which meant there was no need to seek support from the outside and implement tough policies like demonetization.

When it comes to the people of Delhi they can be brutal with electoral politics

India is a homogeneous society in theory but in practice, Delhi epitomizes homogeneity more than any other city because people from all the parts of India live here and caste and religion based politics just don’t work here. That is why the likes to Samajwadi party and Bahujan Samaj party never had any success or impact although our nation’s capital shares border with Utter Pradesh. AAP knew all of this and had some of the brightest people in its fold at the beginning but soon many started leaving because they were the first to see the ugly side of its leader Arvind Kejriwal who clearly suffers the cult of the personality syndrome like other politicians.

Delhi not just gave the clear mandate to the AAP but sent a loud signal to all political parties they will not be taken for granted and the same applied to APP which it forgets. When APP was contesting Delhi Assembly elections its workers and leaders were closer to the people and every neighborhood was canvassed and the result was getting 67 seats out of 70. But this unprecedented victory alerted their DNA and suddenly APP aspired to be a national party but it was too soon. Winning an election is a great achievement but getting the job done is what gets political parties back in power. It was clear APP thought it could win elections in Goa and Punjab which are small states and almost all of its top echelon spent time there campaigning. The people of Delhi did not like that, not one bit and the result of the MCD elections is the undeniable proof.

His eyes are bigger than his stomach

It takes many years to emerge as a national leader unless you are a member of the fabled Nehru-Gandhi family and the best part is Kejriwal was presented with this opportunity but he wanted it quick. He had been chief minister of Delhi for just three months when he resigned and contested in the general election from Varanasi against Narendra Modi to be called a giant killer. Without any base he ordered his party to a content election in over four hundred seats, hoping to become the next Prime Minster of India or better yet play the king maker. But this action proved to be a disaster and many lefts but still, he won Delhi because the people were willing to forgive and wanted change. Also, BJP just played it wrong in Delhi and completely deserved to lose.

The loss of Acuity

BJP should have lost the MCD elections because most of its corporators were corrupt and did a very poor job for the last ten years. That is why most of them were not given the ticket to fight the election and were issued the warning to be loyal to the party. AAP could have taken advantage of this and pointed out this fact but instead, it sulked at the election loss in Goa and Punjab by blaming the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) and demonetization. The election commission in India is an extra-constitutional body and has the respect of the people for conducting free and fair elections and APP had the audacity to question this revered institution and at the same time talk rubbish about demonetization the best economic policy to curb corruption in our times which the people had already rejected it as a lame excuse. The supremo of AAP in his loss neither showed any grace but everyone can feel the stench of a sour loser who does not have the courage to own responsibility.

A good leader takes a little more than his share of the blame, a little less than his share of the credit. Arnold H. Glasow

Arvind Kejriwal forgot the most important rule in politics which is “all politics is local” and in the end is no different than Rahul Gandhi who never takes blame for the loss but is there to reap all the glory. In his time as the CM of Delhi Kejriwal spent more time outside of the state campaigning than working for the people. His constant verbal attack and obsession with PM Modi are now the stuff of legend. When he started out there was grace which we now know was a mask he wore beautifully. But in just two years all one sees is conceit and hubris. It's clear Arvind Kejriwal suffers from political caducity otherwise his party should have won the municipality election easily.

North Korea and Pakistan are collaborators when it comes to acquiring and proliferating nuclear and ballistic missile technology clandestinely and both these nations have publicly threatened their respective neighbors with a nuclear strike regularly.

Pakistan and North Korea are not a democratic country and the military is the number one institution that sucks all their resources and it is supported and sustained by China. The fact is China has the money and the resources to support all the bad habits of these two failed nations by overlooking Pakistan’s support of Islamic terrorism in India and Afghanistan and to keep America and Japan on their toes by giving just enough support for the regime in Pyongyang to survive.

One has to admit there are lots of familiarities between these two rogue nations and China is the factor that feeds them and sustains them.

China the world’s second-largest economy and last communist power country

China is not only a very big country but also over the years due to its sound economic policies is now a global economic powerhouse and has a maximum number of billionaires. China has the world’s largest military with some of the most advanced weaponry at hands making it the replacement of the old Soviet Union which fell in the late 1980s and a direct competitor of U.S. But there was one difference between the erstwhile Soviet Union and China and that is economic policy which means it now has capitals to influence policy of other nations and Pakistan and North Korea are its prime examples.

China and Pakistan

Both India and Pakistan share the border with our eastern giant and in 1962 we went to war with that giant and were beaten badly because we were not prepared politically and militarily. It was a sad time for a young nation that emerged from the shadows of slavery after one thousand years. Since then we never had any serious hostility with China except the unresolved border issues. But with Pakistan, we had to fight four wars since partition and for the last thirty years, we continually have to endure asymmetrical warfare in the Kashmir Valley which is have claimed the lives of thousands of security personals and civilians plus other terror attacks such as the attack on our Parliament and 26/11 Mumbai strike. However, the cost of maintaining a large army and Para-Military presence in that region takes a chunk out of our GDP but it is not only important it is necessary. So why China would ever want the problem between India and Pakistan resolved?

Right now the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is going full steam ahead so China can have access to the Arabian Sea and Strait of Hormuz where about twenty percent of the world's petroleum passes through the strait and this area will play a vital role in the geo politics of the future because of its strategic location for international trade. CPEC is supposed to bring a lot of prosperity to Pakistan but many Pakistanis would agree that they are now simply surrendering and becoming the slave to China but the Generals know better and as long as their bank accounts are regularly replenished, who cares. But India cares because the route runs through the disputed territory of Pakistan occupied Kashmir which legally belongs to India and through the largest and the richest Pakistani province Baluchistan where its natives are denied their rights and butchered by Pak state security and hired nonstate actors.

So why not keep India and Pakistan busy with each other as the trucks and goods train will roll back and forth from the Gwadar port in Baluchistan through the Karakoram Range and into China. Why change the status quo.

China and North Korea

The relationship between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) has been in place when both these countries got its independence after the end of Second World War. Both the countries were ruled by dictators and their words became the law of the land. It did not matter if people had any food as both the communist nations followed the principals of “Songun Chongch'i” which in Korean means military first. Although after the death of Chairman Mao Tse Tung China got into an aggressive economic recovery program but in North Korea, it seems time stood still. Kim Il Sung ruled for forty-six years and after him, his son Kim Jong-il took over and now this Orwellian state is ruled by the grandson Kim Jong-Un.

A lot of people may not know this but the Korean War never actually ended and it is still the world’s longest cease-fire agreement on the 38th parallel line. The Americans are still there and yes the fighting ended on 27 July 1953, when an armistice was signed and the Korean Demilitarized Zone to separate North and South Korea was created. But no peace treaty was signed, and the two Koreas along with America are technically still at war where tens of thousands of Chinese soldiers also had fought and died. America is still an ally of North Korea and China still gives the occasional support to North Korea but economic realities may force China to rethink its strategy

America has just sent its powerful navel armada and one can call it saber rattling consisting of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier battle group to the Korean Peninsula and the Chinese are calling for restraint. However, on the other hand, they are diplomatically sympathetic to America issuing statement of condemnation when the North tested its ballistic missiles. This way they score economic points and North Korea will still be on the map.

What is the end game because rules change?

Pakistan recently said it would declare Gilgit-Baltistan as its fifth province because CPEC runs through this area but India still maintains that Gilgit-Baltistan is a part of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and legally still an integral part of the country forcefully occupied. The people in this region and in Baluchistan do not share good relations to put it lightly with the Punjabi and Urdu speaking Sunni Muslim majority because their resources are taken forcefully with no benefit to the local populace. People of Both Korea’s would love to reunite as a country but China would lose an important proxy in that region (also Japan is developing its military strength) which from time to time can hold the world to ransom and same can be said about Pakistan. For China, Pakistan and North Korea are the counterbalances against India and America but the question is for how long. Both countries have an itchy trigger finger and both survive under the blanket of its nuclear deterrence, but again for how long.

Already China faces terror attacks in its Uyghur province which is dominated by Muslims of Turkic lineage and supported by terror groups operating in Pakistan. With North Korea, if the west puts the squeeze on them and China allows it, it would not come as a surprise if DRPK turns on China. It’s unlikely but still possible. However, until then China will use Pakistan against India and North Korea against America as its proxy to maintain status quo in the region.

Poverty and Education are deeply rooted. Higher the people living below the poverty line, lower will be the literacy rate and hence bleak future.

The government is continuously taking up initiatives to eradicate Poverty from our country and to provide compulsory education to all.

But even after so many efforts students drop out from schools. Poverty affects them in a number of ways, often they stop going to schools so they can work and support their families which further throws them in this ditch called poverty.This might help their family at that point in time but they will find themselves struggling years later due to this loss and the cycle of poverty repeats.

Also, Due to living in such adverse conditions these little impressionable minds indulge in wrong habits and often lack morals and they end up making their own future dark.

The only solution to this problem is education. Education is the only way out of poverty. One of the beautiful quotes by Aristotle says that "The roots of education are bitter but the fruit is sweet" and I couldn't agree more. Yes, they might have to suffer from some financial problems in the process but this is the only way to improve not only their own conditions but also provide good standards of living to their coming generation.

Education might not make them rich but it can definitely get them a job and make them earn a living for themselves and their family to fulfill their needs.

To help the society in overcoming this problem Manav Utthan Sewa Samiti is trying to offer a helping hand.

* M.U.S.S. has been continuously working to promote goodwill and harmony in the society through dissemination of spiritual knowledge.

* Last year, that took a very serious and important initiative with the name "Mission Education".

Why have they taken up this initiative?

As we are well aware that in spite of the adoption of 'Mission Mode' to universalize elementary education, the dropout rate in schools continues to be high. The Indian government, in its mission to universalize elementary education, has over the years been able to increase the rate of enrollment but has been unable to arrest the dropout rate due to impediments. Only 47 of the 100 children enrolled in Class I reach Class VIII, putting the dropout rate in primary and elementary schools at 52.79%. Dropout rates are even more alarming at the elementary level (Class I to VIII) where 53.45% of girls and 52.28% of boys drop out of school.

The studies show that the compelling factor behind these dropouts are mostly the lack of amenities/stationery for the children to continue schools.

From their drive and initiative, they intend to help these kids and motivate them to abstain from dropouts.

How is Mission Education going to achieve this?

Mission Education team will place a drop box in the donor schools i.e. schools where students are well off. Students can donate stationary items like pen, pencil, notebook and whatever they can but not the cash.

In the meantime, their team will scan for underprivileged schools and donate them the material along with the donors.

What is their objective behind "MISSION EDUCATION"?

The objectives of this effort are:

To extend basic education essentials to the underprivileged children/students/schools.

To inculcate the desire to share and help the needy among our children.

The basic motive of education is character development, right? By helping those students they are in a way planting a seed of virtue in the future of the nation.

They are developing their character by instilling values of generosity and brotherhood.

According to Aristotle, eudemonia is more than just a pleasurable hedonic experience; eudemonia is a state in which an individual experiences happiness from the successful performance of their moral duties. We desire that our next generation lives by this.

When did they start and what have they achieved till date?

They started off in November 2015 and till November 2016 i.e. within one year they were able to install 850+ boxes all over India and 1 lakh 48 thousand 665 students benefitted from this initiative.

School On Wheels by Mission Education:

On Nov. 2016, Mission Education has started School on Wheels at four centers in Delhi.

STEPS TAKEN BY THE SEVEN COUNTRIES AGAINST QATAR

Soon after announcing the unfortunate news, the three Gulf states blocked and closed off air, sea and land transport links and routes to the State of Qatar and gave the Qatari tourists and residents to leave their country immediately and move back to Qatar within two weeks.

Qatar has also been suspended from a Saudi-led military coalition currently fighting in Yemen.

REASONS GIVEN BY THE GULF COUNTRIES FOR TAKING SUCH A SHOCKING DECISION

The much-debated issue that Qatar supports the world’s oldest Islamist movement or the ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ has been formed the basis of the debate that the state supports terrorism

Saudi has accused Qatar of backing and broadcasting the ideologies of militant groups including ISIS, the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda on the most influential state-owned media channel Al Jazeera.

It has also been claimed that Qatar has voluntarily supported many activities of the Iranian-backed terrorist groups in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Qatar has also financed, and adopted extremists who destabilize unity not only at home but abroad as well.

CONSEQUENCES OF SEVERING TIES AND CUTTING OFF LINKS WITH THE STATE OF QATAR

There was a havoc amongst the residents of the country. The Qatar tourists and residents in those seven countries were warned to leave for Qatar as early as possible, within two weeks.

The Gulf countries have started experiencing an economic crisis that has loomed as the four Gulf countries jeopardized a total land and sea blockade of Qatar.

As soon as the announcement was made, the three major airlines – Etihad, Emirates, and FlyDubai – declared their flights being canceled and suspended.

One of the major consequences of such a step was that Qatar’s stock market index dropped 7.5%.

Oil prices skyrocketed since it is the largest exporter and supplier of LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) and other refining products derived from the natural gas.

RESPONSE OF THE STATE OF QATAR IN THIS CONCERN

Denying the accusations, Qatar says that it came as an ’utter surprise’ and that Qatar has been indulged into a ‘smear campaign of lies and fabrications’ adding that it was solely committed to its charter and had always respected their sovereignty without interfering in their matters.

Another bunch of reports by Qatar’s official news agency recently said the Emir, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani had criticized the United States and had offered backing for Iran which reaffirmed their support for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar denied such reports and even defended itself when asked about the tweets claiming their withdrawal of ambassadors from the countries like Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates by saying that their official Twitter account had been hacked.

Recent reports came up with the shocking news of Qatar being severed off by a Saudi-led coalition of Arab nations as they declared that Qatar has been supporting terrorism.

The Arab world’s most powerful states namely Bahrain being the first one to snap the ties followed by Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Libya and the Maldives.

STEPS TAKEN BY THE SEVEN COUNTRIES AGAINST QATAR

Soon after announcing the unfortunate news, the three Gulf states blocked and closed off air, sea and land transport links and routes to the State of Qatar and gave the Qatari tourists and residents to leave their country immediately and move back to Qatar within two weeks.

Qatar has also been suspended from a Saudi-led military coalition currently fighting in Yemen.

REASONS GIVEN BY THE GULF COUNTRIES FOR TAKING SUCH A SHOCKING DECISION

The much-debated issue that Qatar supports the world’s oldest Islamist movement or the ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ has been formed the basis of the debate that the state supports terrorism

Saudi has accused Qatar of backing and broadcasting the ideologies of militant groups including ISIS, the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda on the most influential state-owned media channel Al Jazeera.

It has also been claimed that Qatar has voluntarily supported many activities of the Iranian-backed terrorist groups in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Qatar has also financed, and adopted extremists who destabilize unity not only at home but abroad as well.

CONSEQUENCES OF SEVERING TIES AND CUTTING OFF LINKS WITH THE STATE OF QATAR

There was a havoc amongst the residents of the country. The Qatar tourists and residents in those seven countries were warned to leave for Qatar as early as possible, within two weeks.

The Gulf countries have started experiencing an economic crisis that has loomed as the four Gulf countries jeopardized a total land and sea blockade of Qatar.

As soon as the announcement was made, the three major airlines – Etihad, Emirates, and FlyDubai – declared their flights being canceled and suspended.

One of the major consequences of such a step was that Qatar’s stock market index dropped 7.5%.

Oil prices skyrocketed since it is the largest exporter and supplier of LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) and other refining products derived from the natural gas.

RESPONSE OF THE STATE OF QATAR IN THIS CONCERN

Denying the accusations, Qatar says that it came as an ’utter surprise’ and that Qatar has been indulged into a ‘smear campaign of lies and fabrications’ adding that it was solely committed to its charter and had always respected their sovereignty without interfering in their matters.

Another bunch of reports by Qatar’s official news agency recently said the Emir, Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani had criticized the United States and had offered backing for Iran which reaffirmed their support for Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood. Qatar denied such reports and even defended itself when asked about the tweets claiming their withdrawal of ambassadors from the countries like Egypt, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates by saying that their official Twitter account had been hacked.